The usefulness of furniture such as dressers, cabinets, or bureaus can be greatly increased by providing a hinged or otherwise attached top which can be configured to provide greater working space or allow access to interior regions of the cabinet. For example, both U.S. Pat. No. 1,369,577 to Townley and U.S. Pat. No. 3,703,324 to Smith describe furniture having hinged tops that open to provide an increased working surface. Townley '577 describes a kitchen cabinet having a hinged top which can be opened to provide increased working space but when closed presents the appearance of a standard cabinet. Smith '324 discloses a cabinet having a top surface that is hingeably mounted to form either a flat dressing table for infants or alternatively to form a recessed shelf with side and top panels.
Both the cabinets described by Townley '577 and Smith '324 have an inherent disadvantage associated with the required cost and additional labor needed to add hinges to the cabinets to swingably support the top panel in an opened position.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a dressing table that can be interchangeably converted into a cabinet.
It is another object of this invention to provide a convertible dresser having a front cabinet door and a flippable board configured to form a cabinet top so that the cabinet can be converted into a dressing table by rotating the front cabinet door into a horizontal position and reversing the orientation of the flippable board to bring flippable board into a horizontal position adjacent to the front cabinet door, forming an extensive level surface for use as a dressing table.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide a convertible dresser having a cabinet with front, back, and side panels, a front cabinet door with an upper portion curved toward the back panel of the cabinet, and a flippable board configured to form a cabinet top so that the cabinet can be converted into a dressing table by rotating the front cabinet door into a horizontal position and reversing the orientation of the flippable board to bring flippable board into a horizontal position adjacent to the front cabinet door, forming an extensive level surface surrounded in part by the back panel, side panels, and curved upper portion of the front cabinet door.
In accordance with the previous objectives, the present invention is a cabinet that can be converted into a dressing table. The cabinet has a cabinet body having first and second side panels that are interconnected in a spaced apart relationship. A front cabinet door is attached to the first and second side panels for swinging movement therebetween. The cabinet also includes a flippable board having a first and second surface that rests upon the cabinet body. The flippable board has first and second supports attached to the first surface and arranged in spaced apart relationship so that the flippable board is capable of assuming two orientations with respect to the cabinet body, respectively oriented in a first arrangement with the second surface of the flippable board positioned to form a cabinet top of the cabinet body and in a second orientation with the first surface positioned in a coplanar, adjacent relationship with the front cabinet door placed in an extended position to project horizontally outward from the first and second side panels.
In preferred embodiments the cabinet body is formed by first and second side panels vertically arranged in parallel spaced apart relationship and connected together with a back panel. In the cavity of the cabinet body defined by the conjunction of the first and second side panels and the back panel are positioned a plurality of drawers that are slidably movable in a horizontal plane outward from the back panel to extend from the cabinet body. A top support board is positioned above the plurality of drawers in a horizontal plane extending between the first and second side panels and the back panel to constitute an uppermost horizontal surface. In preferred embodiments the top support board is situated between the first and second side panels and the back panel so that the side and back panels continue to extend upward from the site of horizontally arranged attachment of the top support board.
The flippable board can be placed to rest upon the top support board in two differing orientations. In one orientation the flippable board is positioned so that it is supported by first and second supports to define a space between the first surface of the flippable board and the top support board. In a second orientation, the flippable board is positioned to rest upon the top support board so that a flat surface suitable for a dressing table is provided.
A useful feature of the present invention is the lack of hinge elements or actively movable support members necessary for converting the dresser into a dressing table. Converting from a configuration suitable for a dresser with a top to a dressing table only requires that the flippable board be inverted so that the flippable board is in direct contact with the top support board. Similarly, converting from a dressing table into a dresser involves reversing the procedure, inverting the flippable board so that it is supported by first and second supports which create a storage space between the flippable board and the top support board.
Yet another advantage of the present invention is realized by the increased area of dressing table made available by extending the front cabinet door. The front cabinet door can be swung forward by rotation about pins that attach the front cabinet door between the first and second side panels. The forward rotation of the front cabinet door forward is blocked in a horizontal position by the action of blocks set on the first and second side panels so that a substantially flat surface located adjacent and coplanar to the flippable board is created. The combination of the properly oriented flippable board and front cabinet door together form a substantially flat surface suitable for use as a dressing table.
Still another advantage of the present invention results from the positioning of the top support board at a predetermined distance below the upper edges of the front, side and back panels. When the flippable board is oriented to act as a dressing table, the predetermined distance of first and second side panels and back panel act as a barrier to better contain the movements of infants or objects placed upon the dressing table. This advantage is also promoted by providing the front cabinet door with an curved portion that upwardly extends in a generally vertical manner when the remaining flat portion of the front cabinet door is in an extended horizontal position.
Additional features and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment exemplifying the best mode of carrying out the invention as presently perceived. The detailed description particularly refers to the accompanying drawings.